Highlander: The American Dream #3
Written by Brian Ruckley
Art by Andrea Mutti
Colors by Vladimir Popov
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Andrew Griffith, Claudia Gironi
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 19, 2017
Cover Price: $3.99

It’s nice to see the Highlander franchise back kicking ass and taking heads. In Highlander: The American Dream #3 the reader finds that this tale has progressed into a more modern era, specifically 1955! Old allies and enemies alike run through the streets of Manhattan with centuries old agendas.

Highlander: The American Dream #1
Written by Brian Ruckley
Art by Andrea Mutti
Colors by Vladimir Popov
Letters by Chris Mowry
Cover by Francesco Francavilla, Claudia Gironi
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 22, 2017
Cover Price: $3.99

Over thirty years since the release of the original film and the franchise still holds just as much magic for me now as it did then. I speak, of course, of the movie Highlander. With the release of this newest comic Highlander: The American Dream #1, I find myself drawn back into the world of sword swinging immortals and their quest to be the last of their kind. As it is so eloquently put: “There can be only one.”

Highlander
30th Anniversary Edition – Director’s Cut
Blu-ray
Directed Russell Mulcahy
Starring Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, Sean Connery
Lionsgate Home Video
Release date: September 27, 2016

Russell Mulcahy‘s 1986 feature Highlander centers on Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), a man born in the Scottish Highlands in the 1500s who discovers he’s immortal after he miraculously recovers from a deadly wound he sustained during his first battle against a rival clan. The film seamlessly goes back and forth between MacLeod’s past in 16th century Scotland and his current life as antiques dealer Russell Nash in modern-day New York City, with a few other brief past-life flashbacks thrown in. Under the tutelage of Sean Connery‘s Ramírez, a fellow Immortal, MacLeod learns to swordfight and use his strength in preparation for the eventual Gathering, when all Immortals will be summoned together to fight for “The Prize.”

In modern-day, MacLeod comes under suspicion by the police after a man is found decapitated by an extremely rare broadsword, which was recovered at the crime scene by police forensics pathologist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart), who seeks to know more about the weapon and where it came from. Meanwhile, the Kurgan (Clancy Brown), the fierce warrior who dealt Connor that initial deadly blow back in Scotland, has arrived in New York City to seek the Highlander out and finish what he started so long ago.

The cult classic film Highlander, starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, is getting a 30th Anniversary Edition release on DVD and Blu-ray this Fall!

Liongate announced today that the 30th Anniversary Edition will be released on September 27, 2016 and will contain new bonus features, such as never-before-seen interviews, deleted scenes, a new “making of” documentary, and audio commentary with director Russell Mulcahy.

Check out the DVD and Blu-ray box art here below, along with a full list of bonus features.

Back in May it was reported that Ryan Reynolds had entered into chats to take on the lead role of Connor MacLeod in the planned remake of Highlander being directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.

Not much has been heard since, but a couple of days ago word scattered around the ‘net seemed to indicate that Reynolds had officially signed on for the role. Some outlets reported it while many others did not, giving the news that unstable vibe.

I like Ryan Reynolds. He’s a very funny guy, a capable dramatic actor, and more often than not the best part of some godawful films. Even though last year’s Green Lantern was an unequivocal failure on nearly every level, Reynolds’ performance in the title role was solid enough to almost redeem the entire mess. However, I don’t think Reynolds should be a part of, or even anchoring, every genre movie property with endless potential. Some movies the guy just doesn’t seem to fit into.

Case in point: Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment’s reboot of the 1986 action-fantasy cult classic Highlander, which has been in development ever since Summit acquired the rights to the franchise from producers William Panzer and Peter Davis back in 2008. The project currently has Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) in the director’s chair with a script by Iron Man scribes Matt Holloway and Art Marcum and the Spanish filmmaker’s current top choice to be his sword-swingin’ Scottish immortal Connor MacLeod is none other than Ryan Reynolds.

For several years now a movie based on the popular Bioshock video game franchise has been in development. At one point Gore Verbinski (the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies) was in the director’s chair, but couldn’t come to an agreement with the studio about the film’s projected budget and his demand for an R-rating. Verbinski assumed producing duties instead and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) took over as director. But now it looks like the Spanish filmmaker is no longer involved with the long-gestating Bioshock movie either.

“To be honest, by now, I’m completely out of that, and developing other stuff,” Fresnadillo said in an interview with the Playlist while promoting his latest film Intruders. “Right now it’s on hold. The studio and the videogame company, they have to reach some kind of agreement about the budget and the rating.” Despite the popularity of the Bioshock games the franchise has a very limited fanbase outside the gaming community and wouldn’t necessarily justify the sizable nine-figure budget required to bring the game to life on the big screen. Verbinski looks to be staying on as producer.

Bob Anderson, one of the world’s top sword masters and fencing choreographer for such movies as Lord of the Rings, Highlander, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Princess Bride, has died, according to TheOneRing. He was 89.

Anderson, who was born on September 15, 1922 in Hampshire, England, taught many actors fencing techniques and was a stunt double for David Prowse’s Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He actually also trained actor Errol Flynn, who is known for his iconic swashbuckling roles.

According to TheLordOfTheRings.net, after the master swordsman read J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, he “developed sparring methods based on Tolkien’s descriptions of each culture.”

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at TeeFury today is a Highlander-themed shirt called “Macleod Antiquities” by Jack Lightfoot.

The sale began at Teefury today, Friday, December 2, 2011, at midnight EST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore.

How fast does it take for a remake to go from mildly intriguing to quite interesting? A matter of one single news story.

With Justin Lin attached to the long talked about remake of Highlander one could definitely be interested. However, as Lin becomes something of a hot commodity in the film world, a new director is needed, and apparently, that director is none other than Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.